Telegram's founder Pavel Durov said earlier he agreed to include the messenger in the information register of the Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor

MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor introduced Telegram messenger in the register of information distributors on the Internet. Data on the company Telegram Messenger LLP, managing the messenger was submitted to the register.

Three services have been added to the register: the Telegram website itself - telegram.org, the shortened version of the site t.me, as well as the browser version of the messenger web.telegram.org. In the description of the service it is noted that Telegram is "a cross-platform messenger for smartphones and other devices." Access to services was not limited.

In addition, Telegram was assigned a registry number, the information on the register's website indicates the organization's actual address and e-mail address, as well as the date of registration.

Pavel Durov said earlier he agreed to include the messenger in the information register of the Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor. However, Durov noted that Telegram will not provide access to the correspondence of users fulfilling the requirements of the package of anti-terrorist laws (the so-called "Yarovaya Package").

"Telegram developer’s registration data is not a secret and is available to anyone in open sources. If this is the true extent of the regulator’s wishes, I have no objections to using this data to register Telegram Messenger LLP in the register of information distributors," he said.

"However, we will not comply with unconstitutional and technically impossible Yarovaya Package laws - as well as with other laws incompatible with protection of privacy and Telegram's privacy policy," Durov said.

Durov noted that the company does not incur any additional obligations, adding that Telegram will cooperate with the Russian regulator at the same level as with regulators in other countries. Durov explained that this includes "working together to remove public materials related to the propaganda of terrorism, drugs, violence and child pornography, as well as working to curb the distribution of spam."

Head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov on June 23 personally appealed to Pavel Durov with a request to provide data on the company managing the messenger - this is necessary under Russian law to operate in Russia. If Telegram failed to provide the required data within the specified time, the messenger would be blocked in Russia until the information is provided.

In response, Durov stated that the requirements of Roskomnadzor to provide information to the department contradicted the Constitution of the Russian Federation in terms of privacy of correspondence.